Abstract
ABSTRACT Scuba diving offers new possibilities for being human. The diving equipment, making it possible to breathe and move about underwater, temporarily transforms divers into a kind of cyborgs, that is, integrated human–machine organisms. This transformation is here outlined by looking at both the experiential and structural aspects of recreational scuba diving. Though drawing on the occasional part-taking in scuba diving activities of different kinds over a period of fifteen years, the empirical examples in this article mainly come from a short-term ethnographic fieldwork in the small island nation of Palau in Western Micronesia. Scuba diving here emerges as a profoundly human form of cyborgism, enhancing both organic functioning and experiential possibilities, altogether creating a deeper feeling of meaningfulness in life for participants. An analysis of recreational scuba diving thereby opens up for a new way of thinking about not only cyborgism, but also the relationship between humans and technology.
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